About Us

Our Family 4×4 Adventures

Hi we’re Carlo, Lavinia, Charlie and Jordan a young Aussie family from Adelaide who love nothing more than to get out into the open air and discover what this beautiful country has to offer. What we really love the most is finding those out of the way locations that are only accessible by means of owning a four wheel drive. Because of this love of exploring we are taking the ultimate family adventure, an 18 month trip driving around and through Australia. We’re not the first to do it and we certainly won’t be the last but we want to explore this magnificent country with a difference. We will try to keep to the dirt tracks as much as possible to truly experience the beauty of the Australian outback and to find some lesser known destinations to share with others through our blog. We want to experience Australia in all its rugged beauty and to show that it is totally possible to do this with young children along for the adventure. If this strikes a chord with you read on below and get to know us a bit better then check out our past adventures to see just how much we love to travel and buckle up and get ready to follow us on our Big Adventure!

Carlo

Well I’ve always been a four wheel driver even back when a four wheel drive wasn’t considered a cool car, because I just love the freedom and sense of adventure that only comes with car than can go almost anywhere ! When I was a lad I grew up fishing most weekends with the old boy, my brothers and uncles. Camping out on the Yorke Peninsula and Southern Fleurieu. The old boy had a bright red duel cab 4×4 Toyota hilux which I thought was the ducks nuts as younger teen. Once I finished high school I was lucky enough to score an apprenticeship at GMH as a toolmaker/fitter. This paved the way for my future in owning 4x4s. My first car I owned ( thanks to some help from mum and dad ) was a pride and joy FJ 40 series petrol model. This was bullet proof in my eyes and went anywhere and everywhere I pointed it. After earning a little more money later on into my 2nd year I spotted a canary yellow Hilux, the same as dads but the upmarket model, if there ever was from a 20 year old truck in the 2003 era. It had carpet and cup holders with power steering along with a canopy. After owning it for some time and having many camping trips and fishing ventures I swaped the old petrol motor out for a commodore fuel injected beast. This Hilux flew like a yellow cannery on steroids for many years.

Through out the last few years I have come of age and own a 2008 GU Patrol with what I deem the perfect blend of off road and touring modifications for my wonderful family. This has been the major influence of our family travels along with our camper trailer that was purchased over 10 years ago with the old man ( can’t beat what works even with a little age on the side with a camper trailer ). we have travelled the far and wide of SA seeing many many beautiful campsites along the way, venturing out to the Kimberley’s for a 8-9 week return trip covering the harsh Tannami Desert, to Birdsville and back in the wet and all the way through the Telegraph Track in Cape York ( still a little disappointed that Lavinia drove the obstacles along the way as I had to do all the river crossings by foot to make sure that we would make it through ). To this day we have never felt so alive as a family and couple than when we are away, there just seems to be another parallel world where work, stress, issues and problems don’t exist (thanks to turning of the work phone when we pull out the driveway) and that’s what had directed us to where we are today, getting everything in place for our family 4×4 adventures and here to show you that it is possible to do this and try to keep it off road with the family in tow.

Lavinia

My love of exploring this beautiful country we call home was ignited at a young age through the many camping trips, weekend drives, bush walks and travels I experienced with my family. I’m pretty sure travel and adventure is just in my genes! Whatever the case, I am so grateful to this day that my parents took all of us, seven children to be exact (yep I’m the eldest of seven) out to explore so many amazing places. In high school I nurtured my natural talent for art and photography (another family trait) which developed into a dream to one day travel around Australia to photograph and paint the beautiful landscapes there are to discover. Well school finished and i got a job in a bakery drawing the images onto icing for cakes, which was great for me because I loved baking also. This developed into a ten year career, the last two years of that owning and operating my own store. I gave this up three years ago to focus more on my art and to become a full time mum to our then 10 month old son Charlie. A month after selling my shop we headed out on the first of many adventures as a family.

Besides becoming a full time mum I began painting, entering a handful of art competitions and displays with my images depicting the beautiful landscapes we would see on our ever increasing travels. When Charlie was two and a half we had our second child Jordan and our travels continued , with Jordan being only four and half months old when we left for our trip to the Kimberley’s in 2014.

One of my paintings, entitled “Just Passing Time”

Let’s just say I now had my hands full looking after our two beautiful boys, but crazy me always looking to bite off more than I can chew, decided to start studying and take on illustrating children’s books as well! I found walking outdoors with the boys so rewarding and a great form of fitness, that I wanted to be able to take it to the next level and encourage other new mums to do the same and get outdoors with their children, so I became a qualified fitness instructor. As life would have it just as I had finished my course, (and just after visiting Cape York in July this year) we came up with this crazy idea to head off on this amazing adventure around Australia, one that would see my childhood dream become a reality. How could I say no to that! Above all I would love our children to develop that same passion for exploring and traveling as Carlo and I share, and to hopefully make memories for them that they will remember as fondly as I do from my childhood. So that’s me in a nutshell, a mother, partner, artist, photographer, baker, explorer and now a blogger! Oh and the patrol is my daily driver so I know the vehicle inside out and its capabilities, so you can be sure I’ll be doing some of the off road driving as well ( love the water crossings !).

Charlie and Jordan

We have two beautiful little boys, Charlie (4) and Jordan (20 months) and they definitely love the outdoors as much as we do. These little guys are without a doubt the next generation of Aussie explorers and we love the idea that we are going to be able to create memories for them that will hopefully shape their lives. Charlie loves anything to do with any sport as well as fishing and digging outside in the dirt, just like his dad! Jordan on the other hand will copy anything and everything that his big brother does and just loves being outside, it’s almost impossible to keep this little guy inside even if it’s pouring with rain. They are the best of friends and love nothing more than going on walks with mum to the oval to play cricket or football and visiting playgrounds and the beach.

About US

Hi we’re Carlo, Lavinia, Charlie and Jordan a young Aussie family from Adelaide who love nothing more than to get out into the open air and discover what this beautiful country has to offer. Read more...